The Man In The Basement
by reltubarim
Summary: Dipper Pines was twelve years old when he first met the man in his basement.


Dipper Pines thought he knew every inch of his great uncle's shack.

He'd grown up in this shack. Every summer, him and his sister Mabel were sent up to the tiny house in the woods. At first they'd been hesitant. They lived in a digital world, and this was far away from any technology or electronics. The nearest convenience store was a mile away.

Slowly, they'd gotten used to it. The twins made it their duty to explore every part of the little shack, and learn every path in the dark wood surrounding it.

For years, they did this. Until they were sure that they had done as many adventures as they could at the age they were.

Then their parents split up, and neither of them could support the children. It was pure luck that led the two to an empty room in the shack, and not to an orphanage.

Dipper knew where all the interesting trinkets were. He knew how to flick his wrist in just the right way to open a locked chest in the attic. He knew where every door led to. Except one.

The door was locked all hours of the day. Dipper had asked once what was behind it, but his great uncle hadn't answered. He only said, "Don't ever try to go through that door, Dipper. It's not for kids like you." But Dipper isn't a kid any more. He insists.

I'm twelve years old.

He thought.

I can handle whatever's in there.

The lock had been impossible to pick. His sister was always the better one at these tricks, but Dipper knew that if he told her, she would go right to their great uncle about the adventure.

No, Dipper had to do this alone.

He waited, passing the unassuming door every day he walked through the hall. He watched, searching for any sign of how to get in. He finally got his opportunity, in the middle of the night, a week from winter break.

Dipper was about to fall asleep when his stomach grumbled at him to get up. On his way through the dark house, stepping in and out of the moonlight shining in through the windows, he let his eyes wander once again to the fabled door.

The door was opened.

His food was forgotten and his footsteps faltered for a second, staring at the crack of light pouring from the door.

Despite the excitement firing up in his belly, he forced himself to be quiet as he slipped through the opening. There was no telling what could be down here.

Old steps led down onto a cool cemented floor. The basement seemed bare at first, but upon further inspection, he noticed it was bigger than it was at a first glance.

As his feet carried him deeper in, more and more things popped up from the darkness. Desks, papers, and odd bits and pieces littered the walls on either side of him. Tapestries hung over the walls, depicting scenes of what Dipper could only assume to be Hell.

The orange light from upstairs faded into blue as he got closer to the end of the room.

Dipper gasped, the sound resonating in the quiet.

A man, dressed in dirty pants and a ripped button up shirt, lay shivering inside a circle with strange shapes inside, made of what appeared to be blood. His arms and legs were shackled in glowing blue chains, providing the only source of light between them. The man's one gold eye snapped up to Dipper as he took shattering breaths. The other eye was covered with a poorly made cloth eye patch. The man seemed to realize that Dipper wasn't a threat, and sat up until he was cross-legged and facing Dipper.

Come on, be brave. I said I'm old enough to handle this and I am. This'll prove it to Stan and Ford.

Dipper sucked in a mouth full of air and let it out slowly before nodding at himself in assurance. He could do this.

"Who are you?" He started off easy. What else are you supposed to say to a man tied up in your basement?

The man took a second to stare down Dipper, as if sizing him up. That calculating eye greatly unnerved Dipper, but his resolve refused to break.

"Bill." He replied after a minute. "Bill Cipher."

For a man that looked so ragged and pitiful before, he certainly spoke in a clear tone. With that voice, Dipper could've thought he was of nobility, had he not been chained to a floor in some dank basement.

"Bill," Dipper tested the name on his tongue, finding that he liked the way it felt, "why are you in my basement?"

The man curled his lip and looked away, the most emotion he'd shown since Dipper arrived.

"Ask Stanford Pines."

Dipper furrowed his brow at that. Was his great uncle keeping a man tied up down here? Why? He felt a sudden pang of distrust in his heart. He thought he and his grunkles were close. This doesn't seem like something they'd do.

"Great uncle Ford wouldn't keep a man in his basement for no reason." Dipper hurried to defend his relative, refusing to rethink everything he knew about him. "Are you dangerous?" He whispered this, as if doing that would keep his answer a secret between them.

Bill leaned forward, his mouth quirking up in a small smirk.

"Yes."

Dipper didn't get a chance to react, a six-fingered hand dropped onto his shoulder and pulled him back from the bloody circle he'd been unconsciously moving closer to.

"Dipper, what did we tell you about coming down here?" His great uncle somehow managed to sound both panicked and angry, eyes flickering between the lowly chuckling man and his nephew. "This is not a place for kids. I don't want to catch you down here ever again, understand?"

Dipper nodded his head, holding his crossed fingers behind his back so Bill could see. There is no way that this is just going to be swept under the rug. He had to know more.

His great uncle dragged him upstairs and disappeared back into the basement, locking the door. Sleeping didn't seem very interesting at the moment, Dipper's excitement bubbling energy into his tired body. Instead of resting, Dipper pulled out a notebook and jotted down as many questions as he could think of to ask Bill.

Dipper drifted off eventually, with a promise to go back to the basement tomorrow.

The next day, it was easier to sneak back to Bill.

He went in the middle of the night again, bringing two cookies and boxes of apple juice with him this time. The door was locked, but Dipper had spent the whole day spying on Ford. Dipper saw him drop a key into his brother Stan's bedside table. As soon as he left, Dipper crept into the room and took it out. There was a note with it.

Stan, this is the only extra key to the basement. I need one of us to be keeping an eye on my project at all times. Keep this from the kids, they're not ready.

Dipper bristled at the last part, crumpling the note up and stuffing it into the back of his closet.

It took no time at all to reach Bill again, and when he arrived the man was already sitting up, ready for him.

"You look hungry." Dipper slid an apple juice and cookie to him. "How long have you been here?"

Bill glanced at the snack and smirked like he had last night. Like he was amused at something Dipper had done. Dipper only started eating his own snack when Bill picked up his.

"A long time." He answered vaguely, taking a sip of the juice. "How old are you?" Bill questioned curiously.

"I'll be a teenager in nine months." He mumbled the last part, munching quietly on a cookie before straightening up again and pouting at the rugged man. "Hey! I'm the one asking the questions here."

"Sorry." Bill snorted, his laughter making Dipper's body feel weird. "Ask away, kiddo."

"I'm not a kid!" Dipper huffed, crossing his arms defensively. "Everyone always treats me like a child, but I'm old enough to make my own decisions! I decided to come down here, didn't I? I even brought you food like a responsible adult." The questions he'd prepared flew from his mind as he ranted.

"You did. Thank you for that, by the way. Why do they treat you like a child? You seem very grown up to me. Probably more mature than most adults in this world." Bill's smirk hadn't left his face; he was gazing at Dipper with a strange look in his eye. Dipper couldn't decipher what it meant, and didn't care either. The praise warmed him up.

"They treat me like a child because I'm young, I guess. I'm not even that young. I've driven a golf cart before, and I went to the grocery store on my own." Dipper shrugged, a smile tugging at his own lips. The other man's attitude infecting him enough to feel comfortable.

"You're practically a middle aged man already." Dipper wrinkled his nose at the thought and giggled at the looks Bill gave him.

He felt like a child again, but it wasn't bad. Bill treated him right. He wasn't patronizing, like everyone else. Why would Ford lock this nice man up?

"How old are you?" Oh right, the questions, gotta ask the questions. Dipper slapped himself mentally for forgetting why he came down here in the first place.

"As old as time itself." Bill spoke in a wispy tone and twirled his fingers in the air.

Dipper had trouble figuring out if the statement was sarcastic or not. The man looked very serious when he said it.

"But that's not possible. Humans can't live that long and neither can anything else. Except jellyfish. I read somewhere that jellyfish are immortal." A blush dusted over Dipper's cheeks as he spoke, thinking himself silly. This must seem so childish to him.

"Jellyfish aren't immortal, sadly. But I am." Bill paused and looked into Dipper's eyes. The boy had scooted closer as they talked, and was now on the edge of the circle, eagerly waiting for him to respond. Bill smirked.

"I am a demon."

Dipper didn't visit Bill again for another couple of days.

The truth had Dipper on edge for a while, and he wasn't quite sure whether he wanted to face the reality of what all this meant. He chose to be blissfully ignorant, and pretend that everything is fine. His great uncle didn't have a demon chained up in his basement, and he also had no secrets to keep from Dipper. No, Dipper just found a new friend. His uncle is just sick and disoriented.

Any excuses he could find, Dipper filled his mind with them. It was better that than this sudden out of control and scary world he only now realized he was living in.

Nope. Blissful ignorance it is.

After a few days of thinking everything over and deciding to just keep doing what he wanted to, he traveled back to the basement. This time, he had a notepad of questions and spaghetti in a plastic container.

Bill sat, same as before with his legs crossed and hands folded in his lap. His eye was closed until Dipper also sat down across from him.

The spaghetti was passed through the circle silently. Dipper waited quietly until Bill finished the small serving, the only sound between them was the slurps of noodles.

"So... Demon?" Dipper's voice was slightly higher than usual. Ignoring Bill's snickering, he cleared his throat and continued.

"Is that why you're all chained up? Have you done something really bad to my great uncle?"

Bill tugged at the shackles around his wrists bitterly, frowning in distaste at the mention of Ford.

"I've done nothing to him. He chained me up simply because I am a demon." Bill spat. "He tortured me. Isolated me. The food you've been giving me is more than I've had in years."

Concern flooded Dipper's senses. He found himself pitying the demon, regardless of what he is.

"Tortured you? Is that how you..." Dipper gestured to his eye, feeling incredibly awkward.

That was so rude. He's probably so mad with me now oh no-

"Yes." Bill's response brought Dipper out of his thoughts. He didn't look too upset about it at all. His face remained impassive as he spoke.

"My demon form has one eye. When Ford ripped me out of my dimension and shoved me into this cage of flesh, he didn't give me another one." Bill sounded so resigned. He must've been here for years.

"You mean this isn't how you actually look? Why did Ford take you away from your own dimension? You live in a different dimension?" Dipper said it all in one go, surging with curiosity. A demon, right in his grasp. Imagine what he could know.

Bill let out a breathy laugh, snapping out of his reverie. Both of them relaxed from a tension that Dipper hadn't realized was there.

"Slow down, kid." Dipper glared at the endearment, but held his tongue. "You're just like you're him, eager for knowledge. But I like you more." Bill winked, tossing him an easy grin.

Dipper turned red, trying and failing to hold back a bright smile at the praise. At his expression, Bill's smirk only grew.

"To answer your first question, no. This is not my natural look. I would describe it to you if I could, but the English vocabulary is too limited to give it justice." Bill's words only filled Dipper's mind with more possibilities.

I would love to see it one day.

"Ford just wanted to know more. He must've discovered my existence through some tome or occultist, and decided to trap me as his own personal living library. I shouldn't have answered his summons, it was stupid," Bill's head dropped to glare at his hands in his lap, twiddling them angrily, "but I was so eager to have someone that wanted to speak with me."

"I want to speak to you." Dipper blurted out, cheeks still slightly pink. "I'll come down every day to talk to you. I can tell you about the news, and bring you down snacks, and we can be friends!"

The room was quiet for a moment, the only sound being Dipper's breathing and the twinkle of chain against chain. Then Bill's cheeks split into a wide smile, his eyes shining with that strange twinkle in them again.

"Thank you..." At Bill's pause, it occurred to Dipper that even with what little he knew about the demon, Bill knew even less about him.

"Dipper." The boy held out his hand, breaching the circle for the first time. "Dipper Pines."

The demon tensed at first, gazing at the hand hesitantly. Then his eyes drifted to the empty spaghetti container, and Dipper's discarded notebook, and finally onto the boy himself. Bill gently took Dipper's hand, shaking it with an almost crazed smile.

"Nice to meet you, Dipper Pines."

Dipper kept his promise.

For years, Dipper would go down to that basement, food in hand and news to be told.

They had a sort of deal going on. Dipper would tell Bill about everything and anything he could think of, ranging from what he'd seen on the news, to how his day went, even to what book he was reading. In return, Bill would answer all of his questions about different dimensions and demons and all things magical.

Dipper was in high school now, a sophomore. He'd grown, losing the last of his baby fat. Mandatory gym class and labor work for his grunkles had given him enough muscle to not look like the weak kid he was before. He probably could've gotten a girlfriend by now, but he was too often distracted and alienated from everyone else in school.

Bill had slowly become his only friend other than Mabel. He didn't need anyone else, he Bill. He was the only thing Dipper needed.

Nervousness churned in Dipper's stomach tonight. While Bill had become his friend, he was also a sort of diary for Dipper. Maybe it wasn't wise to lean on an all powerful demon for emotional support, but nothing bad had happened yet. Bill was so kind, Dipper trusted him even more than he trusted his great uncle Ford.

His footsteps sounded louder than usual as he walked through the dark to Bill's circle. The thing he'd been meaning to talk to Bill about had become unavoidable, and however much Dipper dreaded the conversation, he knew that he had to have it. Otherwise it would eat at his insides forever.

Dipper gave an awkward wave to Bill as he handed him a banana and glass of water. The demon took them with a small 'thank you,' as always, and drank idly from the glass as Dipper plopped down in front of him.

"How was school? Is that runt Gideon still being mean to you? I can haunt his dreams if you want me to." Bill asked, eyes flashing at the thought of giving someone who hurt Dipper nightmares.

"School was fine. Gideon's... Fine. You don't need to give him nightmares, it's fine." Dipper realized too late that he had said 'fine' too many times. He gulped and glanced away from Bill, who was peeling his banana with an eyebrow raised at Dipper.

"Really? Fine?" Bill encouraged him to speak more, sensing that the boy was hiding something. He didn't like secrets.

Dipper couldn't keep his eyes off the banana that Bill was slowly eating. He felt his face burn with color.

"Y-yeah." His voice cracked, blush spreading throughout his body. The usually cool basement feeling too hot all of a sudden.

"Hmm." Bill scrutinized Dipper's squirming, his treat lazily held up to his mouth before he finally bit and swallowed it. "You can either tell me now or I can get it out of you later."

A huff came from Dipper's lips as he grumbled under his breath. This wasn't an easy conversation for him to have, and he'd spoken to Bill about everything. Somehow, this was too hard.

"I, uh... I figured something out. A-about myself. I think." He stumbled over his words, wringing his hands together nervously as he overthought what he planned to say.

Bill waited for Dipper to continue, not showing any signs of wanting to interrupt. He just wished it were easier to do this. Millions of people have done this before, why couldn't he?

"I'm... I like..." Dipper sighed, closing his eyes and deciding to just get it over with. "I'm gay."

The silence felt like it went on for hours. Dipper refused to open his eyes, fearing he'd see the same look his classmates would give him when Gideon accused him of the same thing. The jeers, he could handle. But if Bill rejected him, Dipper wouldn't know what to do with himself.

"Oh, is that all?" Dipper blinked his eyes open, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at Bill. The demon looked the same as he usually did. His glass of water was half empty, the banana peel lay beside his feet, and he was gazing at Dipper with the same look he always gave him.

"You're not weirded out?" Dipper was still hesitant.

It was safer to come out nowadays, but that didn't mean that everyone accepted it. Especially in such a backwater town as this one. It wasn't something you displayed openly in such a place.

"Kid, you're literally talking to a demon. Sexualities and gender all that other crap you label yourselves as is just made up by human society to gain some form of control in a world that you are powerless in. I don't care who you want to mate with." Bill leaned back on his hands, keeping his eyes connected with Dipper's.

Despite the casual aura he sent out, Dipper could see how much Bill cared about him. The genuine look of acceptance in his eye sent a familiar burning feeling into his stomach.

He's so kind. He's so wise. He's so perfect.

With no reason to respond, Dipper sat with Bill in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, both of them lost in their own little worlds. Dipper didn't know what Bill was thinking about, only vaguely wondering if Bill knew what he was thinking about, because Dipper's thoughts were a mess even to him.

Chancing a glance to the demon, Dipper found Bill's eye already on him. His breath hitched, heart speeding up minutely at the look the other was giving him. It was so sincere. The most loving look anyone had ever given Dipper, even if there was still that mysterious gleam that he couldn't understand. His golden hair looked soft, despite the probable lack of a wash, and Dipper had a sudden urge to run his fingers through it. His neck was long, caramel skin taunting him to bite and lick as he pleased. A heat filled Dipper's body and he stood up abruptly, earning a confused look from Bill.

"I-uh. I have to go, school tomorrow, I haven't finished my homework, it's late." Too many excuses. Dipper tore his eyes from Bill's tantalizing lips that had slowly melted into a smirk.

"I understand, go do what you need to do." He had that knowing glint in his eye again. A fleeting impulse screamed at Dipper to kiss him until that expression left. He ignored it as best he could.

Somehow, in a dream-like state, Dipper drifted upstairs and under his blankets, one hand around himself and the other tangled in his hair. Every pulsing need he'd been feeling was getting the pleasure it begged for. He moaned a whisper of "Bill." His back arching off the bed as the heat in his stomach finally released it's tight grip on him. As Dipper lay back, sweaty and panting, the reality of what he'd just done hit him.

Fuck.

Dreams haunted him constantly.

A figure with a knowing smirk and gleaming eye hovering over him, making him writhe in pleasures he'd never felt before. Morning routines had the addition of either washing his pants in a frenzied rush, or embarrassingly taking a cold shower right out of bed. Dipper refused to think about what else he could be doing with these dreams.

It made sense, now that he lay down and actually thought about all that he'd been living with. No social life, a teenage boy's body, spending all his time with a demon in a dark basement. Just the two of them. Alone.

This wasn't his fault. He never intended to feel like this. Then again, Dipper never intended to find a man in his basement either, let alone a demon.

Bill was too charming. He knew all the right things to say, exactly how Dipper would react to praise or encouragement. Never in his life had Dipper felt this attached to one human, not even Mabel.

Dipper started doing things just to hear praise from Bill.

It started out small, getting him better snacks, leaning more towards gourmet meals. Then he began leaning closer and closer to the demon as he absorbed all the stories he had to tell. It came to the point where Dipper lay in the circle with him, keeping in contact with Bill all the while. He began asking less questions about life and more about Bill himself. Dipper made it very clear to Bill that if he wanted anything, Dipper would help him to get it. The demon had not yet requested something of the boy.

"How can you break these chains? This circle can probably be washed away with water, but those binds look magical." Dipper just wanted to see that look again. The look that made his stomach clench and body go warm.

Bill gazed at Dipper, who was resting his head in the demon's lap, with an eyebrow raised in interest.

"Why do you want to know?"

Dipper sat up and flushed at how close in proximity their faces were. He forced himself to ignore the impulse to close the distance, instead giving Bill the most heartfelt expression he could convey without outright saying how much he cared about the demon.

"I just..." Dipper bit his lip, suddenly nervous. He has no idea how Bill will react, but he has to ask. "I just want to make you happy... Will setting you free make you happy?"

The reaction from Bill that his words achieved caused Dipper heart palpitations. The demon's eye widened in shock at first, then pride (which made Dipper's heart swell even more), then a triumphant sort of glamor. A smug grin was thrown onto his face as he pulled Dipper into his arms, making the younger blush redder than he ever had before, a bashful smile on his lips.

Bill brought his mouth up to Dipper's ear, bringing their bodies even closer together until they were pressed flush against each other. As if Dipper's mind wasn't already going haywire, his head could only think of one word now, echoing and filling his brain until it's all he hears.

Bill. Bill. Bill.

"That would make me very happy, Dipper." Bill murmured, his voice lowered in a sultry manner. An involuntary noise choked Dipper's throat. Finally his tight muscles relaxed as he melted into the man's arms, submissive to the man he fears he may love. Everything he will do from now on, he'll do to please the demon.

"Tell me what to do, master."

The plan took a lot of planning, and no time at all to execute.

Bill told him that the circle around him was a weak binding circle, easily broken if just a sliver of it is disconnected. Washing out the blood will only take water and a rag.

The chains were more complicated. They were designed specifically for demons, and specifically for Bill. Apparently, it kept him from escaping the human body he was trapped in, so he was unable to get to his dimension or to his true form. That wasn't all though. Their appearance could've been anything, as long as it was on Bill, but Ford chose chains for a reason. They grounded him, taking away his freedoms such as the power he possesses, what he's allowed to say, where he's allowed to go should the binding circle be destroyed. Getting these off is the top priority.

"There is no key to them. Brute force will not break them. Magic does not affect them. The trick to removing these is to use your mind."

Dipper drank in every word, studying the luminescent blue shackles and chipping away at the dark red cipher on the cement floor. If he does this for Bill, he won't have to sneak around anymore. He can be with him at last, with nothing trying to keep them separate. If anyone does try, Bill can use his immense power to relinquish them. So Dipper and Bill can be together.

After weeks of exercising his brain, using techniques that Bill had given him, Dipper felt he was ready.

To release the chains from Bill's limbs he has to remove his soul from his physical being and once in that realm that Bill calls the Mindscape, he will be able to touch and sever the ties on the chains. Bill says that this is a very dangerous process and that although Dipper's body will be with Bill, his consciousness will be unprotected in a realm of demons and horror.

I'm scared.

"You have nothing to fear, you will already be directly in front of me. Just break the bindings and I'll take care of the rest. It will all be done before you know it."

What if I can't break them?

"Your mind is strong. One of the strongest I've ever seen. It will make destroying the chains as easy as stepping on a stick."

Then we can be together?

"If that is what you want, who am I to argue? You can be beside me for eternity in the Mindscape. I'll protect you and you can serve me. It would make me very happy."

The night has finally come.

Everything was perfect. He'd already disconnected the circle, and could somehow feel Bill's soul reaching out to him as that first obstacle crumbled down.

Now he sat cross-legged in front of the demon, who was eyeing him like a prize, making Dipper's heart flutter. This is it. This is what Dipper has always been meant to do. This is his purpose. His destiny. His future.

"You know what to do?" Although he posed it as a question, Dipper knew that Bill was giving him a chance to rethink this. It was a sweet gesture, but Dipper cannot wait any longer for this. It's now or never.

Dipper nodded.

Bill looked prideful again, and for a second, Dipper felt the first shimmers of doubt.

Did he really want to go through with this? Risk his life, his family, for a demon? Did he really want to free a demon at all? Did he really love Bill? Is this goodbye? Will he ever see Mabel again? That question made his heart clench painfully, but he quickly pushed it away.

No. Why do I doubt myself? This is what Bill wants me to do. This is what I want to do.

He fell into the eternal darkness of the Mindscape.

Where am I?

Panic seized his chest as he looked around, only seeing shadows.

Why am I here?

A glimmer of gold beckoned him near it. He pushed towards it, wading through the inky black shrouding his view.

Gold... Bill...

The rush of thoughts and memories came back to him, dispersing the darkness faster than he could keep up with.

Dipper took the time to survey the legendary Mindscape. The world surrounding him was just as he left it, though in gray scale. He saw himself, or his body at least; head hanging slouched over his chest. He almost looked like he was sleeping. Or dead.

That thought was swiftly shoved away. He then caught sight of Bill, whose head was faced up to the ceiling, eye closed and body relaxed. He was patiently waiting for something. The chains, right.

Although the rest of existence was painted in blacks and whites, the binds that held down Bill were still glowing ferociously. The piece of metal somehow managing to look intimidating.

Dipper remembered what Bill had said about the Mindscape. That it is dangerous, and that he should be quick or Bill won't be able to protect him. Swallowing his fear, Dipper took brisk steps towards the demon, eyes fixed on the only thing keeping him away from his love.

It couldn't have been that easy though.

Terror ran through Dipper's veins as he heard low growls beginning to surround him. Glowing eyes flashing out of the darkness that wasn't lit up by the chains.

He hurried now, tripping over himself as he reached the chain and grabbed hold of it, the vicious snarls of unseen beasts closing in on him. At first the shackles burned in his hand, and he let go with a yelp.

However, when a clawed limb reached from behind him and tore into his calf, Dipper gritted his teeth and grabbed onto the chains again, holding back a scream as agony took him from all around.

The dark shapes and screeching beings overpowered him, but with his last moments of sanity before the panic enveloped him, he crumbled the chain with the hand that was holding it. Blue light that had given him sight before, disappeared in an instant and Dipper let himself be ripped apart knowing that Bill was finally free.

Before Dipper could give into the hell that he'd been sucked into, a golden light once again pierced the darkness.

Screeches of delight became cries of anguish, and the shadows that left him bloody on the ground blew up into dust at the burning light that shot through them.

"O-ho yes! It is good to be back!"

Dipper knows that voice. Of course he did, how could he not? It is the voice of the one he loves. The one he sacrificed everything for. It's Bill.

"Master?" He croaked, lungs not functioning as well as he wanted them to. "Did I do good? A-are you pleased?"

The Bill he'd known, in the human body, was no more. Now stood a true demon. One that would strike fear and trauma into the hearts of thousands. Dipper's heart felt no such fear. The demon looked down at him fondly.

"You've done well, my sweet. I am free once more, and now I can rule this realm with you at my side."

Dipper smiled through his bloodied face, eyes shining with unshed tears of joy. It must've been a pitiful sight but Bill didn't seem to care, so neither did Dipper, even if it hurt him.

"There is just one final thing you need to do for me if we can be together."

His smile dropped and he struggled to sit up, or at least kneel at his love's feet.

"Anything! I'll do anything for you!"

Bill grinned, his demon form making him look significantly more menacing despite the fact that Dipper knew he could trust him. He had to trust him. Dipper had no other options anymore.

"I want your soul." A forked tongue came out of the demon's mouth and licked over his lips. "You're physical form needs to die so that I can keep you here for eternity, like you said you wanted."

Did Dipper say that? He couldn't remember. What else could he do? Nothing, he has to do whatever his love commands him to.

"All you have to do is shake my hand, and I will take care of you. Do we have a deal?"

What about his family? Mabel will be sad, maybe even devastated. Ford will blame someone, probably himself. Stan will get angry, do something stupid and destructive. Can he really leave them?

Have they ever cared about you like Bill has? They didn't respect you. They never loved you like Bill does. None of them even noticed when you disappeared before to visit the only person who actually cares about you. None of them care. They'll even be happy that the problem child is finally gone.

Dipper didn't have to give it any more thought. The voices told him loud and clear, he submits to them as he does to Bill. Dipper takes Bill's leathery demonic hand and blue fire engulfs them.

"Deal."


End file.
